Having conquered the 2800-metre of the Bagot Handicap trip at Flemington, trainer Jason Warren wants to see if Grand Pierro ramp it up again over the two miles of the Adelaide Cup in March.
After missing the win by a narrow margin last start in the Listed Pakenham Cup (2500m), this win in the traditional listed New Year’s Day staying feature saw the five-year-old notch a first victory since the Ararat Cup (2200m) in November 2023.
“I thought the horse had put the score on the board last start at Pakenham,” Warren said.
‘He was exposed at the top of the straight and I thought the effort was very good.
“Halfway up the straight I thought ‘geez he (Zac Spain) hasn’t released the breaks yet’.
Grand Pierro ($9) finished last in the Group 3 Adelaide Cup (3200m) in March 2024 and despite that Warren is not deterred in looking to it again.
“All of our track riders at home have a hard time riding him so Zac did it today in little saddle,” Warren added
“We like to see how he runs the 3200 when we prepare him for a race like that.”
Grand Pierro’s record now goes to 4 wins and six minor placings in 27 starts.
Melbourne Cup runner Interpretation ($9) finished ¾-length away in second with Mormona ($18) a further half-length away in third.
$2.80 betting site favourite Muramasa was pulled out of the race at the top of the straight with initial reports from stewards suspecting internal bleed.
